Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation is continuing its partnership with Zynga for this year’s #BeKind21 event, the mobile game publisher announced in a September 1 press release. The collaboration will take the form of a Words With Friends takeover, with the multiplayer, Scrabble-style game offering players a #BeKind21-themed Word Of The Day and in-game signups for the #BeKind21 pledge. The pledge’s goal is to encourage Words With Friends players and other participants to take part in an act of kindness every day from September 1 to 21.
First held in 2018, the #BeKind21 event was created to emphasize the importance of mental wellness and “build a kinder, braver world,” according to the press release. In 2020, the first year Words With Friends partnered with the initiative, #BeKind21 saw 5.3 million people sign up to participate, culminating in 1.7 billion social media impressions. Words With Friends first launched in 2009 and has been downloaded and played millions of times across the globe.
As part of the initiative, Words With Friends will use language to inspire its players to make acts of kindness. A staple feature of Words With Friends is its Word Of The Day, which encourages users to play unique words that tend to include high-scoring letters, giving them a potential edge over opponents. The Words With Friends Word Of The Day for September 1, the first day of the #BeKind21 takeover, is “Kindness.” Art for this year’s event also shows other words players are encouraged to use in Words With Friends, including “love,” “pledge,” “brave,” “nice” and “caring.”
Words With Friends’ #BeKind21 Takeover Explained
Words With Friends may seem like an odd avenue for Born This Way Foundation’s initiative, but as Zynga president of publishing Bernard Kim said in the press release, “Acts of kindness can come in many different forms, and can be as simple as inviting a friend to play a game.” Born This Way Foundation president and co-founder Cynthia Germanotta – Lady Gaga’s mother – said its research indicated “young people […] believe experiencing, and even witnessing, more kindness in the places they live, work, and play will help to improve their mental wellness.” Small actions like using using “Kindness” and other encouraged words in online mobile game matches, then, could have at least some positive impact on players’ wellness – and could simply serve as a reminder to be kind to others.
Players can sign up for the #BeKind21 pledge directly in the Words With Friends app, which will get them a free customizable calendar from Born This Way Foundation. The calendar is designed to help participants track their acts of kindness through the 21-day event.
